Final Grades Have Been Posted

I would like to thank each and every one of you for an interesting and productive semester, and I wish all of you much success in the future. Should you need further assistance with anything regarding English grammar/composition, advisement/registration, or admissions/scholarship applications, don't hesitate to contact me.

Best wishes to all of you this holiday season.

Prof. G.

12-15-14[B15D] and [G6A] - Remember to bring your journal (notebook) to the final exam.

12-10-14

The final exam page has been uploaded. Our final regularly scheduled class will be a review for the final exam.

12-1-14

Response paper #3 has been posted. If you missed last class, the required reading for response #3 is on the same page as the assignment.

11-25-14

[B15D] and [G6A] - The final draft of your persuasive essay is due Monday and must be e-mailed to movingwaves. No late papers will be accepted.

In the final weeks of the semester we will focus on looking ahead to English 102 by reading together a few short stories and using our course theme, "Between Two Worlds", to begin our discussions about the stories. After the Thanksgiving holiday, we will pick up where we left off with our investigation of writing responses to literature in the literary present tense. Be sure to finish your response to the journal entry for Week 11 before next class; we will use your responses to continue our discussion on literature next class.

A Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving to you all!

11-19-14

[B15D] and [G6A] - For next class bring in what you have put together so far for your first draft. We will further discuss in-text citations (MLA author-page style; works by single and multiple authors; Internet sources and Electronic sources [including online journals from the library database). Be sure to have all your sources on your flash drive; some time will be set aside during class to begin constructing your Works Cited page.

Next class will also include a review for the next quiz (comma usage). The quiz will include relative and non-relative clauses; the appositive; coordinate adjectives; commas in a series (list); and free modifiers. Read again the handout on comma usage to prepare for the review.

[B15D] - Tomorrow we are in the computer classroom, H-405. Be sure to have your Persuasive Essay research on your flash drive for tomorrow's class.

11-11-14

A heartfelt Veteran's Day thank you to Diane and Tian [B15D], Keith [G6A] and to all United States military veterans and active duty personnel. It is your commitment to the preservation of our freedom that continues to provide the foundation for all hard working Americans and their families to reap the rewards of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

[B15D] and [G6A] - News Group assignment grades are now on Blackboard.

[B15D] - Tomorrow we are in the computer classroom, H-405. Make sure you have your journal notebooks with you.

11-4-14[B15D] and [G6A] - Response paper #2 is due next class. The News Group presentations were all successful and the visual presentations will be posted here on our class website by next Sunday evening. I appreciate everyone's effort and enthusiasm with the assignment, and I will post the grades for the assignment on Blackboard by Thursday.

11-2-14

[G6A]- Yesterday's presentations were all very good, and the Q&A sessions following each presentation were interesting, insightful and brought each presentation to a thoughtful (and thought provoking) conclusion.

Reminder: If your group has not already submitted its visual presentation, please e-mail it to my movingwaves account by Wednesday evening.

[G6A] - Personal essay grades have been posted on Blackboard, and your essay will be returned when you hand in your reflection assignment next Saturday (11-8). Once your essay is returned we will discuss in class what you will need to do to revise and resubmit the personal essay assignment.

Reminder: Presentations must have a Works Cited slide/page, and all groups must submit their visual presentation to my movingwaves acount by Wednesday evening. No exceptions.

10-31-14

[B15D] - Today's group presentations were very good. Kudos to Gabriella, Maria and Bryan, as well as Alex, Destiny, Eunja, Starshima, Omar C. and William. On Monday we are meeting in our regular classroom in the Medical Arts building, M-31, and Amanpreet, Kris, Shanice, Kevin and Peng will present first, followed by Christi﻿ne, Tiera, Jeff, Robe﻿rt and Tian, then the final group of Diane, Winnie, Carlos, Manuel, Tenzin and Omar A. will close out the News Group presentations.Reminder: Presentations must have a Works Cited slide/page, and all groups must submit their visual presentation to me on Monday. No exceptions.Note: We must begin the remaining presentations at the start of class on Monday, and if your group already presented you are still required to be in attendance for the rest of the presentations. If you miss class or are late on Monday, your News Group grade will suffer considerably.

10-30-14

[B15D] - Remember to go directly to H-405 (computer classroom) for tomorrow's presentations. Personal essay grades have been posted on Blackboard, and your essay will be returned after the presentations and reflection assignment. We will discuss in class on Monday what you will need to do to revise and resubmit the personal essay assignment.

10-29-14

Go to the sample presentation slide for information about the layout of your works cited page/slide. Presentations will begin at the start of class and group order will be randomly chosen.

Best of luck with your presentations!

10-27-14

[B15D] and [G6A] - Presentations will begin next class. The final slide(s) of your presentation must be a formal Works Cited page, and it must follow the MLA format.

10-24-14

[G6A] - Tomorrow will be the last day for group work prior to next week's presentations. Bring in all your group research and links to your sources.

[B15D] - Monday we will meet in our regular classroom then move to a computer classroom.

[G6A] and [B15D] - Each group presentation must have a formal (MLA) Works Cited page/slide; each group member must be part of the verbal presentation; each group presentation should be between 15-20 minutes; each group must be ready to take questions from the audience.

If you would like to use one of the PowerPoint templates from the visual presentation page or need help with a video link/download for your presentation, let me know as soon as possible.

10-21-14

[G6A] and [B15D] - Review the Comma Usage handout to begin preparing for the next grammar quiz. We will have more sample sentences next class.

[B15D] and [G6A] - Since your journal will be read and graded next class during the News Group session, make sure you have completed all your journal entries through Week 7.

The peer-editing sessions for the personal essay went very well, and I appreciate the overall effort of both classes. The final draft of your personal essay is due next class and you must hand in the first draft, peer-editing question sheet and your outline with your final draft. You must submit your personal essay assignment as follows:

Final draft on top followed by the first draft, peer-editing question sheet and outline. Make sure everything is securely stapled together.

No late papers will be accepted for the personal essay assignment.

We will continue with the News Group assignment at the start of next class.

10-10-14

[G6A] - The first draft of your personal essay is due tomorrow, and attendance is mandatory for tomorrow's peer-editing session. Make sure you fill out the questionnaire from last class. I will be collecting the questionnaires at the start of class.

[B15D] - Read again the New York Times article, The Athlete Who Made LeBron James Possible, and continue where your group left off today by thinking further about potential topics that can be drawn from the article. More information about the article and the upcoming News Group assignment will be posted over the weekend.

10-7-14

[B15D] - Now that you have had your personal essay peer-edited, take into consideration what you discussed with your peer-editor, read carefully what your colleague wrote in answer to the peer-editing questions attached to your first draft, and begin revising for your final draft. Final drafts are due Friday, Oct. 17th. No late papers will be accepted.

[G6A] - The first draft of your personal essay is due Saturday. Your first draft must be a finished essay and the formatting of your paper must follow the formal essay writing guidelines. You must bring a hard copy of your first draft to class on Saturday for peer-editing day. Attendance is mandatory for the peer-editing session.

[B15D] and [G6A] - If you would like me to go over your paper with you, e-mail or call me to schedule a conference. Some time slots have already been filled, but there are still openings this Thursday and Friday, and next Tuesday and Wednesday. There will be no appointments after next Wednesday (10/15), and Monday is a holiday, so there will be no appointments that day.

10-5-14

[B15D] - The first draft of your personal essay is due tomorrow. Your first draft must be a finished essay and the formatting of your paper must follow the formal essay writing guidelines. You must bring a hard copy of your first draft to class tomorrow for peer-editing day. Attendance is mandatory for tomorrow's peer-editing session.

10-2-14

[B15D] and [G6A] - With the college being closed tomorrow and Saturday you have ample time to finish the first draft of your personal essay. Remember that a first draft is a finished essay, and your first draft is due the next time we meet. We will have our personal essay peer-editing session next class, and attendance is mandatory for the peer-editing session.

Revision due dates for response paper #1("The Bar of Gold") are this Monday Oct. 6th [B15D] and next Saturday Oct.11th [G6A]. You must hand in your revised draft along with the graded first submission. Staple the two papers together with your revised draft on top. I will not accept a revised draft without the first (graded) submission.

Read again "She is My Mother", by Yueting Chen, for next class. Note the narrative structure and use of repetition in her personal essay, and look over the outline of her essay (on the handout from last class) as you prepare one for your own essay.

9-30-14

[B15D] and [G6A] - The answers for quiz 1 on sentence structure have been uploaded. Although we went over the sentence corrections when the quizzes were returned, if you are still unclear about anything please ask during class so we can revisit the sentences together.

You must e-mail the topic and rough draft for your personal essay to my movingwaves account by Thursday evening. There are no exceptions. I have received a few rough drafts and will begin responding with my suggestions and comments by tomorrow evening.

9-28-14

The grades for quiz 1 are on Blackboard [B15D] and [G6A]. We will go over the quiz after the journal entry for next class.

For Saturday [G6A] and Monday [B15D]- Have the topic ready for your personal essay, and in your notebook begin brainstorming about your topic (rough draft). If you want, you may type out your brainstorm/rough draft. From the rough draft you will create an outline for your essay, and we will discuss preparing an outline in class. Your outline must be typed and submitted with your first draft and your final draft.- In your notebook answer the questions for the film "Apricot".- Read again the essay "Atheist Among Muslims", and in your notebook write a couple of paragraphs showing the ways "between two worlds" can be applied to the essay. - Read (again) the essay "Dare to Fly", and be ready to discuss the essay in class.

[G6A] Be prepared for tomorrow's grammar quiz on sentence structure.

﻿9-24-14﻿

Grades for response paper #1 ("The Bar of Gold") are on Blackboard. If you would like to revise your paper, revision due dates are Mon. Oct. 6th [B15D] and Sat. Oct.11th [G6A].

9-20-14

For next class [B15D]- Prepare for Monday's grammar quiz (sentence structure: clauses, phrases, verb tenses, punctuation)- Read "Atheist Among Muslims" and be prepared to discuss how the author's narrative is a good example of a personal essay.

This week we meet on Monday and Tuesday. There are no classes scheduled Wednesday through Friday, 9/24-26.

For next class [G6A]- Have the topic (or at least a tentative topic) for your personal essay, and in your notebook begin brainstorming about your topic. - In your notebook answer the questions for the film "Apricot".- Read again the essay "Atheist Among Muslims", and in your notebook write a couple of paragraphs showing the ways "between two worlds" can be applied to the essay. - Read the essay "Dare to Fly", and be ready to discuss the essay in class.- Review for next week's grammar quiz (sentence structure: clauses, phrases, verb tenses, punctuation)

To Everyone: The corrected sentences for practice quiz #1 (from "The Bar of Gold" responses) have been added to the Sentence Lessons page. Review the sentences to prepare for the grammar quiz

﻿9-15-14﻿﻿For next class [G6A and B15D]:- Make sure you finish part two of the Week 3 Journal Entry on attitude. - Read again Edwidge Danticat's New World Full of Strangers, and in your notebook write a few paragraphs describing how our course theme "between two worlds" may be applied to her essay. Try to think of and write out at least two or three ways "between two worlds" is expressed in her essay.

The short film "On Time" which was shown last Saturday [G6A] will be shown in class on Friday [B15D], and the film will be the focus of the first extra credit assignment of the semester. The extra credit assignment will be discussed next class [G6A and B15D].

We will also be discussing the upcoming personal essay assignment, which will begin next week.

The corrected sentences for "The Flying Man" responses have been added to the Sentence Lessons. More sentences will be added for the next grammar lesson, and those sentences will be taken from the "Bar of Gold" responses. The emphasis is still on sentence structure, clauses and phrases.﻿

﻿9-12-14﻿

This week we will begin reading and discussing personal essays and ways to approach writing your own personal essay, which is the first formal writing assignment of the semester.

﻿9-8-14﻿

- Response paper #1 on "The Bar of Gold" is due Saturday (9/13) for G6A, and Monday (9/15) for B15D- Your responses to "The Flying Man" will be given back next class, and the grades have been posted on Blackboard.

9-5-14

EN101/G6A (Saturday) - Video Response #1 is due tomorrow. If you would like me to print it out for you, e-mail your response to my movingwaves account by 11pm tonight. Remember to bring your notebook, folder and a USB flash drive to class.

EN101/B15D (Mon/Fri) - Video Response #1 is due Monday. If you would like me to print it out for you, e-mail your response to my movingwaves account by 11pm Sunday evening.

Welcome to English Composition / Fall 2014

8-29-14

As stated on the syllabus, we will read, explore, discuss and write about the ways we communicate in the twenty-first century and how we use a variety of means and technologies to communicate both publicly and privately. We will also watch videos and look at websites that influence our perspectives on culture and relationships.

To begin, let's take a look at Flash Earth. Click on the image to the right and you will be redirected to the Flash Earth website. Once you are there, click the search box to open the enter location box; in the enter location box, type empire state building then hit enter.

Afterwards choose a few locations of your own (cities, landmarks, etc.) and see if Flash Earth can "take you there".

What does the word "empire" mean?

In your opinion, why do you thinkNew York is called "The EmpireState"?

What is the definition of representation?

Is New York a viable representation of The United States? If so, How? If not, what in your opinion is a good representation of The United States? What image, word, phrase, or symbol comes to mind when you think of America?

The Flying Man

(1) What words (themes) come to mind while watching "The Flying Man"?

2) Choose one of the themes from your list and explain why you associate your theme with the short film.(3) In your opinion, what is the most disturbing aspect of the film? Be specific and write out a full paragraph answer.

(4) Near the end of the film, after the flying man has made clear his intention to personally "clean up" society", a news voiceover asks the following questions:

﻿"Is this the justice we want after centuries of law development and human rights. What is, after all, being a good citizen? If this being's action is a censure of our institutions, have we failed as a society?"

﻿﻿﻿What is your perspective on and answer to these questions?﻿﻿

(5) What sets "The Flying Man" apart from other "action hero" stories you are familiar with? Do you like the film as a story about a superhero? Do you like the flying man as a character?